Abstract

Universities of technology (UoTs) achieve developmental impact through differentiated curricula, allowing graduates to undertake mid-level occupations in the workplace. This mandate differs from that at traditional universities in six respects: diploma-level entrants, labour market focus, workplace-oriented learning, applied research and innovation, practical graduate attributes, and symbiosis with the workplace on curriculum development.

These differentia imply criteria for an 'ideal curriculum' at a UoT: demand among employers, affordable class-sizes, available qualified staff members, articulation to higher qualifications, and space to be created in the programme and qualification mix.
STEPS, a process of Strategic Transformation of Educational Programmes and Structures, was undertaken for eighteen months at CUT. Through work by twelve task teams, innovations in curricula and associated support mechanisms have emerged: including nine new qualifications related to environmental sustainability and service delivery, and the comprehensive re-engineering of selected other curricula. The sequence of the process and case studies of the innovations are considered.